1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a seat belt latchplate for resisting roping and twisting of seat belt webbing.
2. Discussion
Modern seat belt systems having adjustable latchplates generally employ one of two different types of latchplates. In one type of latchplate, web-guiding slots for receiving a seat belt webbing are defined parallel to one another and possibly in the same plane so that the webbing, when threaded therethrough, frictionally holds the latchplate in place at a desired point along the webbing.
Another type of device, a "free-falling latchplate," has one or more web-guiding slots through which the webbing is threaded, so the latchplate can slide generally with relatively lower frictional resistance as compared with the aforenoted latchplate. A button or other suitable member is commonly attached to the webbing to stop the latchplate from moving past a certain point along the webbing.
It has been observed that occasional roping or twisting of the webbing will occur within a web-guiding slot. FIGS. 2 and 4 illustrate an example of such a phenomena in an exemplary prior art latchplate. In FIGS. 2 and 4, a seat belt latchplate A includes a first portion B having a tongue C, and a second portion D having a first web-guiding slot E and a second web-guiding slot F. A webbing G (shown twisted) is threaded through the first and second web-guiding slots E and F.
The employment of a single projection in a wall defining a web-guiding slot, opposed by two projections, has been employed in the art.